Vatican Says Pope Outraged by Sex Abuse in Ireland
Vatican says pope outraged by sex abuse in Ireland VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI shares “the outrage, betrayal and shame” felt by Irish Catholics over cases of clerical sexual abuse and the way abuse claims were handled by church leaders, and he plans to write a special pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland, the Vatican said. The letter “will clearly indicate the initiatives that are to be taken in response to the situation,” said a statement issued by the Vatican Dec. 11. The statement was released after the pope and top Vatican officials spent 90 minutes meeting with Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland, president of the Irish bishops’ conference, and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin. Cardinal Brady said the pope’s letter, which is expected early in January, will outline several initiatives, including public services of repentance for Irish bishops and priests. “I asked him, in my opening remarks, to teach us, to help us be better shepherds of the people, to lead us on the way of repentance and so, therefore, there will be suggestions about celebrations of lament and repentance involving, first of all, us bishops and priests,” the cardinal told reporters. Calling a papal pastoral letter to one nation’s Catholics “quite a significant document,” Archbishop Martin said it would be the beginning of a whole process aimed at “a very significant reorganization of the church in Ireland.” “The climate in the church,” which allowed abusers to go unpunished, will only change once there is a renewal, a willingness to publicly accept responsibility for one’s actions and greater involvement by laypeople in all areas of church life, the archbishop said.
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